The ones I listen to... #3

I’ve been socializing with piano, keyboards, and synthesizers since an early childhood. Guitars started to interest me much later, in high school. Guitar, particularly the electric guitar, is an instrument that usually draws in most people. Everyone has their guitar hero. I have a few of them, but would probably emphasize one name: Mike Oldfield.

The first time I heard music by this artist was in childhood, in the mid 1980s. This was mostly thanks to his “lighter notes”. Of course, I’m talking about songs “Moonlight Shadow” and “To France”, featuring the singer Maggie Reilly. Watching Oldfield live in a big concert, it’s difficult to realize that he is a very modest and humble artist who once suffered from almost incurable fear of live performances. Many also don’t realize that many record labels didn’t want to publish his instrumental masterpiece “Tubular Bells” back in the day.

Oldfield is mostly associated with progressive rock and new age, however his roots are closely tied to British folk and Celtic music in general. This is one trait that makes his music unique and instantly recognizable. Ethno influence is present on almost every Oldfield’s work released so far. An album especially dear to me is “Ommadawn” from 1975. which combines elements of African, Celtic, and old British music with progressive rock and new age styles.

Oldfield became widely known in the 1970s, mostly thanks to the blockbuster movie “The Exorcist” by director William Friedkin. The movie used fragments of “Tubular Bells” as a soundtrack. Interestingly, Oldfield, a multi-instrumentalist but primarily a guitarist, appeared as an antithesis to countless rock and punk names that emerged in the same period.

Oldfield’s method of composing and recording was quite unusual for the time. He played every instrument appearing on his instrumental works by himself. This includes both acoustic and electric instruments. In this way, he created a virtual orchestra of sorts, long before the blossom of synthesizers, samplers, and modern studio technology. He also composed by combining fragments of music of different styles and sounds into a larger picture. He remained true to this approach decades later, when he embraced computers and virtual instruments into his workflow.

Oldfield has gone through various phases during his long career, which sometimes moved him away from his roots and basic philosophy, at least at first glance. The most dramatic example is the 80s, when he turned toward more commercial styles and pop music. However, in the early 90s he returned to the studio in a grand style, while exploring the power of new technologies that emerged in the meantime. Although many long-time fans and followers were rather reluctant toward more recent releases by Oldfield, those still carry his unmistakable fingerprint.

Oldfield is a very prolific author with a large opus, so I would advise those who know his music only superficially to reach for a good compilation. In my opinion, the best of those is still the legendary double album “The Complete Mike Oldfield”, originally released back in 1984. This contains works from between 1973 to 1984, including several rarities plus an atmospheric music from 1984. movie “The Killing Fields”, featuring John Malkovich amongst the others. But you should certainly explore his later works as well.

I’ve been influenced by Oldfield mainly in compositional sense, but also when it comes to guitar, as he often uses fingerstyle technique and various acoustic instruments. Every album by Mike Oldfield is a sonic adventure and an escapist journey for those who want and know how to listen. Oldfield is a genuine self-taught talent who fortunately received well-deserving recognition, despite rough beginnings. Although his newest “true” album “Return to Ommadawn” came out back in 2017, I silently hope we will witness another instrumental release by this music genius.